Baby died after heart operation delayed, inquest told

A six-month-old baby died while awaiting a potentially lifesaving heart operation that had been delayed, an inquest has heard.

Iris Day, who was born with a heart defect, died on December 2 last year, a week before scheduled surgery on December 9 at Evelina London Children's Hospital, which is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust.

An inquest in Chelmsford heard that a scheduled operation on November 25 was cancelled due to a lack of beds, and rescheduled surgery on November 30 was also cancelled as another ill child was prioritised.

There had been earlier delays at the start of November as Iris, whose family live in Great Braxted, Essex, had a viral infection and the risks of surgery were deemed too high.